Wow, this story grabbed me right from the get-go and was good to the last page. I’ve mentioned before that I often use the bookmark feature on my eBooWow, this story grabbed me right from the get-go and was good to the last page. I’ve mentioned before that I often use the bookmark feature on my eBookwise to highlight passages that are off to me or that I want to review later. The bigger the mess, the more the bookmarks. I read this book with nary a book mark. It means that for me, the writing and story-telling were very clean, engaging and lacking in any issues that bog down a book for me.

I will also admit that I didn’t know that this book contained some f/f in it. That was a huge bonus! I bought this book because I happened to enjoy Katrina Strauss’ writing and wanted to try one of her m/f stories as I’ve only read her m/m stories. The same crisp, evocative writing, complex character development, and imaginative story-telling that I’ve experienced in the past was very present in this book as well. This book was just a pleasure to read all around.

Right, to the story. Basically, the blurb is very accurate, so I’ll go from there. The characters: all of them are so rich and compelling, especially, of course, the two main ones, Lord Eldritch and Inga.Lord Eldritch is one of those tortured heroes, but not in that over the top “oh puleeze, get over yourself” way. In the beginning of the book, he’s cruel and powerful; he takes what he wants without consequence and he wants Inga. He puts her in a dungeon straight away and keeps her there chained to the bed around her ankle. For more than a year it’s like that even though he loves her and they have sex all the time. There’s a vibe about him that is so intense and dark, and yet, there’s a spark of something else in there that comes through once in a while, hinting at something deeper, but less sinister in him.

He wears a mask at all times because he’s been cursed; his face severely disfigured from it. This is part of his vulnerability and we learn that while he’s a dominant with Inga and the most feared knight in the kingdom, he’s kept in his place by the current evil King who uses it against him.

Inga is one of the most real characters I’ve read in a while. She’s riddled with contradictions. I really got off on her willingness to go into her dark side and be real in every moment. She calls that part of her “the snake,” that part of her that allows her baser instincts and desires to rule her. I loved it. Absolutely loved it as she goes with it without personal judgment. No Mary Sue’s in this book.

Inga starts out by becoming rebellious and using her magik abilities to heal. She stopped caring that it’s against the king and that she can be killed for it because she sees her people suffering needlessly. So right from the beginning we see her strength and inner goodness. Inga also cannot get enough of Lord Eldritch. She readily becomes his submissive sexually even as she wonders why she is so attracted and doing such things.

As the story progresses, she is asked to do things, to make moral decisions that could end up getting people killed and yet, she does so without flinching, like a samurai sword coming down swift and hard. And she easily takes the position of being a domme with Thelise, the captured daughter of a rebel leader, who plays a role in Inga and Lord Eldritch’s lives. Inga’s only vulnerability is her love for Lord Eldritch and the passion of that relationship consumes her.

The story itself is also so provocative. There are several things going on that all mesh together that create a lot of tension and mystery as fiery emotions and power shifts erupt constantly . At its core, this is a story of passion and what it makes people do.

The title of this book, Secrets Revealed, is very apropos. There are secrets within secrets and as the story unfolds, shocking truths reveal themselves. This kept the story moving along at a nice pace with just the perfect amount of revelation to keep the reader guessing and intrigued at the same time.

The fantasy part of this story is complex and intricately woven throughout the story. Many people of this time have magic abilities but not all have the same kind. One that plays a huge role in this is the ability to read another’s thoughts. This leads to quite a bit of power play and intrigue between the characters as they often have to deal with trying to keep secrets. Inga also has dreaming abilities and as things progress, she sees past events in dreams, which causes her to disobey Lord Eldritch at a certain point, creating even more edginess to this story.

OK, now for the BDSM part. I’ve said before, I’m not too much a fan of BDSM. Much of what I read in this particular genre is more or less power tripping faux BDSM written by people who are clueless just for the titillation factor, which is a huge turn off for me. However, Katrina Strauss is one of the very few authors who can take me into this world and I get it. There’s nothing offensive at all about her way of writing BDSM. Not only that, I enjoyed reading it.

I also got off on the fact that while these characters all have qualities about them that are offensive and despicable to some degree and it’s tied in to some degree with the BDSM sexual aspect to it, Katrina Strauss never crosses the line that implies that BDSM and negative character traits go hand in hand. Really, it’s amazing writing when your characters can have evil characteristics and yet, the reader can easily fall in love with them, admire them as strong, powerful beings.

The only negative thing I can say about this book is that I would have liked more character development on Thelise. She’s a fascinating character, who, like Inga, acts on pure passion, but is incredibly selfless, selfish and vulnerable. I guess the story is pretty much perfect as it is and to develop her more would have maybe even cost the story some. But she was someone whom I wanted to know more about why she ticked.

All in all, Secrets Revealed is a well written intense and passionate story set in a violent but colorful world. For any person who is into fantasy, dark m/f love, BDSM, and medieval stories, this a definite recommend. But I also recommend this book to people who like f/f and or those who are normally not into BDSM.

Sex rating: hot- while there are graphic sexual situations, the language used is more sensual and soft around the edges. There are many sexual scenes though and of all combinations. BDSM, flogging, anal, lots of m/f, some f/f, f/f/m, very minor m/m, and minor m/f/m.

I've read all of Kirsten Saell's books and her trademark hawt and bawdy way of writing a story and romance is very much present in this story. And onI've read all of Kirsten Saell's books and her trademark hawt and bawdy way of writing a story and romance is very much present in this story. And on that level it's a fun, juicy book.

While it's not my favorite of her books, that is mainly due to the fact that I'm not so hot on m/m/f menages. Although, in this book I really believed that the three main characters all have deep feelings for each other and their process in getting there is very believable.

The fantasy world of the Bethalas that was created in Crossing Swords is still as interesting and colorful as just enough of it is presented to give a great backdrop for the love story, but not so much that it overwhelms with too many details.

I really enjoy that a lot of this is left to the imagination of the reader.

And as per usual, the sex is smokin hot as these three characters find their love by way of exploring their intense sexual attractions and maybe even emotional needs stemming from old scars. ...more

I loved the last story in this book by Bonnie Dee called "Awakening." It's about two girlfriends who share an apartment who are in love with the sameI loved the last story in this book by Bonnie Dee called "Awakening." It's about two girlfriends who share an apartment who are in love with the same guy.

Rachel is outgoing and always has dates and Melissa is quiet and shy. Melissa has a crush on this guy at work but can't get the nerve up to talk to him outside of business talk.

Rachel has been going on and on about this guy that she really likes, as in, it could be serious. When Rachel brings this guy, Michael, home, it's the guy from work that Melissa has had the hots for.

What basically happens is that they all get together for a weekend of hot sex and find out that they all really want to stay together.

This story is really well written and the characters all have their issues, but work it out, including fears of the odd man out problem. I also really enjoyed that while neither Melissa nor Rachel are bisexual, they are close enough as friends that it was not such a huge leap for them to get sexual together. It was nice and easy. And Micheal is a sweetheart of a guy who clearly enjoys them both, but not in a "oh man, I got two chicks" sort of way. He really has feelings for both.

It was all very realistically written and I must say the sex was hawt.

About the rest of the book, I just could not get through the first story, ergo, it's a DNF. I might try and come back to this book and maybe try and read the second story, but at this moment it's a DNF.